Coneheads (1993)
Comedy, Science Fiction • 1h 27m
Director: Steve Barron
Cast: Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Michael McKean, Laraine Newman, Jason Alexander, Lisa Jane Persky, Chris Farley, David Spade, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Dave Thomas, Michelle Burke, Robert Knott, Jonathan Penner, Whip Hubley, Howard Napper, Michael Richards, Eddie Griffin, Adam Sandler, Grant Martell, Art Bonilla, Rosa Maria Briz, Joey Lauren Adams, Parker Posey, Kevin Nealon, Julia Sweeney, Ellen DeGeneres, Walter Robles, James Keane, Todd Susman, Danielle Aykroyd, Nicolette Harnish, Sam Freed, Garrett Morris, Cooper Layne, Sarah Anne Levy, Drew Carey, Shishir Kurup, Sydney Coberly, Barry Kivel, Terry Turner, McNally Sagal, Richard Comar, Peter Aykroyd, Nils Allen Stewart, Tim Meadows, Mitchell Bobrow, Laurence Bilzerian, Topper Lilien, Tom Arnold, Jon Lovitz
Best English-friendly & video release
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has poor encode: Dolby Vision caps
Updated 10 months ago
Best audio release
Thanks to the magic of Dolby Stereo encoding the 2.0 mix actually has much better surround activity compared to the 5.1 mix, which feels flat and lifeless. The surround mix is also missing elements (eg @ 0:04:58 the zapping sound doesn't extend to the surrounds on the 5.1 track, same with the flickering sound @ 0:21:46, etc)
UHD tiers
Poor encode: Dolby Vision caps
About the film
A pair of aliens arrive on Earth to prepare for invasion, but crash instead. With enormous cone-shaped heads, robotlike walks and an appetite for toilet paper, aliens Beldar and Prymatt don't exactly blend in with the population of Paramus, N.J. But for some reason, everyone believes them when they say they're from France.
- Alternative Titles
- The Coneheads
Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)
Arrow 4K Blu-ray see caps
New Line LaserDisc
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
The 4K discs in both Criterion and Imprint sets are FiM encodes, but low-passed. The compression is better, but some of the grain is lost. Difference is pronounced in screen caps, but not likely to be noticed during playback, without a reference to compare it to. Comparisons
All discs use the same source transfer. It's not of the highest quality, and it includes some slight distortion, looping, clicks, pops, and hum. Criterion cleaned it up for their release, but unfortunately also lost a lot of fidelity in the process.
MGM NTSC DVD doesn't seem to have some of the more prominent distortion and has slightly different EQ but is otherwise the same.
Director: Sidney Lumet
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
1.85:1: Kino Lorber 4K / Capelight 4K
1.66:1: Criterion 4K but low pass filtered
Comparison between the 4Ks, Criterion on the AR choice
Other discs have unnecessary filtering and sound worse, the difference isn't substantial but audible
Director: Buster Keaton
Kino Lorber new Seven Chances / Sherlock Jr. Blu-ray?
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
MoC 4K Blu-ray late 2027
Lobster Films (Kino Lorber?) > Cohen/Eureka https://slow.pics/c/3KWXoMyR The new Kino Lorber's Seven Chances / Sherlock Jr. might be using the same restoration as Lobster Films
Director: Tony Gilroy
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Director: George Stevens
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has unusually strong encode but only a minimal upgrade over the excellent Eureka Blu-ray
Director: Steve De Jarnatt
2024 Kino Lorber Blu-ray
UK Transmission 4K Blu-ray in January 2027
Either the 2015 Kino Lorber Blu-ray or the Arrow Blu-ray
The 2024 Kino Lorber Blu-ray is botched.
Director: Simon Wincer
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
4K is defective with color space issues and poor encoding, UHD replacement disc is also defective with worse encode. The UHD has visible artifacts from the bad encoding. The HDR is overdone and the Paramount 4K master has grain management.
The new Kino Blu-ray has none of the UHD's problems and is superior to the UHD in every way though it still uses the same Paramount master.
DVD 5.1 or LaserDisc 5.1 AC3, LD PCM 2.0 for the matrix stereo version. The LD and DVD seem to be the theatrical audio mix untouched with plenty of low end. This low end like a number of 90's Paramount titles was mixed out or tamed on subsequent releases.
The Lionsgate BD and Paramount BD share the same lackluster HD master with DNR and image distortion. The Lionsgate is much better encoded but has a 7.1 remix which messed up the original mix design by lessening all the great Foley work in favor of the score. The Paramount BD had a 5.1 lossless version of the original mix but it's a new version where the bass has been tamed so the track has lost its punch. The Kino Lorber UHD and Blu-ray recycle this same lesser 5.1 mastering. The original mix can still be heard on LD and DVD. The 2.0 stereo on the Kino is matrixed but also does not sound as good as the 2.0 matrix audio on DVD or LD.
Kino has a replacement program for the defective UHD to fix the color space issue. The new disc is not marked, has a worse encode AND DOES NOT FIX THE COLOR SPACE! Thus it is a worse defective disc version of the original defective disc.
The Billy Zane interview on the Kino BD has technical issues in the editing and clip quality used.
Director: Preston Sturges
No information on French Elephant Films Blu-ray
Director: Martin Scorsese
Other releases have horrendous DNR
More Comedy on Blu-ray
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Director: Jack Conway
4K restoration from safety preservation elements
4K restoration from safety preservation elements
Director: Jack Conway
4K restoration from safety preservation elements
Director: William Dieterle
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
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